63 pages • 2 hours read
Confessions on the 7:45
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Symbols & Motifs
Con Artistry
Con artistry is a motif for exploring The Malleability of Identity. The novel’s con artists easily lie, dissemble, and reconstitute themselves as different people, and not many people question them. Though they are characters in and of themselves, they become symbolic when contrasted with the same dishonest behavior of characters who aren’t professional con artists. Selena even thinks, about her husband, “But that guy, the one she married, he was a con. This man before her someone blank, someone dangerous, he was always inside, waiting to get out. Bait and switch” (329). Here, ironically, she even uses the word “con” to describe Graham without knowing that a family of con artists is trying to take advantage of her.
Pop often dispenses wisdom about conning to Pearl, and two examples stand out as quotes that encompass themes; the first is “If you aren’t running a game, someone [is] running one on you” (24). This means that essentially, everyone tells lies or pretends to be someone else, and it’s not that different from the kind of games that con artists play. Later in the novel when Pop and Pearl are talking about their fathers, Pop says, “Maybe that’s the best lesson of all [...]That you can’t trust anyone, even the people who are supposed to love you” (234). This is what Pop learned from his father and is teaching Pearl, but it is a lesson that Selena, her mother, and her sister must learn as well.
Though Pop, Pearl, and Geneva have specific skills and techniques for assuming new identities and lying to people, the ways they lie to and trick others are not dissimilar from everyday interactions. This becomes clear in the ways Unger juxtaposes the two families to highlight dishonesty that is pervasive in both.
Voyeurism
A persistent motif in the novel is voyeurism: People are constantly being watched by other people. The repeated mention of surveillance helps create a psychological thriller because it makes the reader suspicious of every character. It also supports the idea that no one is who they say they are, a way of revealing the truth when everyone is lying.
The Prologue includes the first instance of voyeurism—an unnamed woman is watching an unnamed man, and he does not know she is there. Later, it is revealed that this scene is Pearl watching Graham after he murders Jacqueline Carson. This scene uses voyeurism to establish a mysterious mood from page one.
In the first chapter, Selena watches her husband have sex with Geneva from a hidden camera. She is compelled to do so because of a suspicion she had that something is going on between them, and the surveillance footage provides proof for her and the reader that Graham is an antagonist. While the book includes plot twists, the hidden camera gives an early glimpse into Graham’s true nature. This would be difficult to achieve otherwise since Graham conceals his worst characteristics when he knows he’s being observed.
Unger writes of Pearl, “One of her gifts was following people. There was a skill to it, a craft. Most people didn’t imagine that they were being followed, so that was a built-in advantage” (193). By following others, Pearl can learn about others, usually to give herself an advantage. When she learns who her father is, she follows him and his family for years. She meets Selena on the train because she has been watching her to learn her routine. She knows that Graham is a bad person because she has been watching him as well.
When the police first visit the Murphy house after Geneva’s disappearance, Graham talks with the detectives about video cameras. This is an instance of foreshadowing. Graham talks easily with the police, never betraying a sense of worry that he may have been caught doing something on camera. He is unaware that Pearl has pictures of him throwing his bloody clothes into a dumpster after killing Jacqueline Carson. Likewise, Oliver plays a major role in solving the mystery by recording a video of Geneva. His video is the key that unlocks who “Martha” really is and the fact that she is connected to Geneva.
Literary Names
Throughout the novel, Pearl and Charlie use names taken from literature when choosing new identities. The names they choose are symbolic and give insight into the kinds of people they are trying to become. The frequent use of these names connects with the theme of how easy it is to adopt a new identity, and it also helps characterize Pearl and Charlie.
Stella hires Charlie Finch to work in her bookstore, and he and Pearl connect through their love of books. Early on, he asks if she is named after the author Peal S. Buck, and Pearl replies that her name was inspired by the John Steinbeck novella The Pearl. This book contains dark themes, which suits Stella’s demeanor. Another famous Pearl in literature is Hester Prynne’s daughter in The Scarlet Letter, a story about a woman who must wear a red “A” on her clothes to shame her for committing adultery. Hawthorne’s Pearl is a truth teller, a childlike innocent who can identify the ways her mother is suffering from a misogynistic double standard. This connection both juxtaposes with and parallels Pearl’s personality; she is a liar and a con artist, but she helps Selena see the truth about her husband.
After Charlie and Pearl run away, they try on new names. Pearl first suggests Portia, Delilah, Cleopatra, and Scheherazade, all of which are literary references that would call too much attention to her. Charlie chooses “Anne,” a reference to Anne of Green Gables. Anne Shirley is a sensitive and imaginative orphan; Charlie says that the name connotes sweetness and innocence while also being simple. When choosing a new name for Charlie, Pearl teases him by suggesting more outlandish and obvious literary references such as Othello, Humbert, Mr. Knightly, and Svengali. This makes Charlie laugh because not only are they recognizable names, but they are also characters who have complicated—in some cases abusive—relationships with girls and young women. During the same conversation, Pearl realizes that Charlie Finch is not Pop’s real name and is a reference to Atticus Finch, the beloved father in To Kill a Mockingbird. She wonders whether it really matters if she doesn’t know his real name. Her choice to continue thinking of him as Charlie aligns him in her mind with Atticus Finch, who embodies morality and reason.
Not only do literary names have symbolic meaning to Charlie and Pearl, but they also endear the readers to these characters. This scene depicts people who are funny, smart, and have a touching bond; it establishes Charlie and Pearl as antiheroes as they embark on a partnership that will inevitably hurt people.
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